Labor Day weekend legal cannabis sales should hit $240 million across the US, according to the analysts at Akerna. And vape pens are the second hottest sales category behind good old-fashioned buds.

This all makes perfect sense. For one, weed’s great for chilling, and the long Labor Day weekend is one of the biggest holidays of the year.

For two, vape pens pair with the fall better than pumpkin spice. On-the-go, disposable THC cartridges (carts) look and smell inconspicuous. Pens don’t set off smoke alarms. At parties and barbecues, a disposable, high-end pen makes a great house gift that doesn’t reek.

And let’s be real—the stress is crazy right now. Back to school in a delta wave, fires in the west, hurricanes in the east, zealots on all sides. We’re staying sane by ripping a pen and repeating ‘cool, cool, cool, cool, cool.’

Keep your head while everyone’s losing theirs. Read up on the tastiest THC cart options coast to coast.

California rosin carts, live resin carts, disposables

The future still happens on the West Coast first, and we’re all ripping rosin.

Ten years ago, carts debuted filled with distillate—the butane extract of dried, cured buds. Then came more flavorful live resin, also made with solvent, but using fresh frozen buds.

Nowadays, it’s all about the huge authentic flavors of rosin, a solventless extract from cured bud, or live rosin, solventless hash from fresh-frozen bud. Sheesh!

Rosin carts

Ask award-winning Cali brand CLSICS—it takes a hash wizard to extract the pungent, potent resin off of freshly frozen flower buds, and flow the goo into a vape pen that works.

These San Diego, CA hash and terp heads took third place in the NorCal Cannabis Cup 2021 People’s Choice with a GMO x Silver Grape Solventless Indica Vape.

It’s still on shelves in SoCal, but not for long. Buy up all the CLSICS rosin carts: Tropaya; Sundae Punch; and Georgia Pie.

They’re at the top end—$75 for a half-gram, but making live rosin ain’t cheap. And these are one-hitter quitter vapes for most mere mortals: The combination of fresh terpenes and THC hits harder, longer, and deeper than most stuff on the market.

See also in solventless carts and pods: Jetty’s award-winning Tropicanna Cookies solventless PAX pod.

Live resin disposables

Beyond the hot rosin cart space, there’s an elite lineup of live resins unmatched worldwide.

The Alien Labs and Connected teams are crushing the top shelf for disposable pens with all their best strains: Gelonade; Lemonatti x Gelato 41; or Gushers.

On the Alien Labs side, get Galactic Gas, Atomic Apple, and Baklava. It’s pricey, but you’re good enough, smart enough, and worth it.

See also in disposables: Raw Garden’s lineup of hella affordable, ready-to-use pens including Island Slurm.

Beyond solventless and disposables, don’t miss stellar offerings from high-end 710 Labs like their Candy Chrome #29 + Pinez #16, or affordable options like AbsoluteXtract’s White Runtz.

Oregon hash rosin and live resin carts

Step aside, self-centered California.

Oregon was the first state to make Labor Day official in 1887. They also beat Cali to weed legalization, and their mature market is excellent. Leafly lists 10,150 cartridges within a 30-mile radius of Portland shoppers. Dispensaries carry something like 70 varieties per store.

Oregon is squishing rosin and live rosin into carts even more enthusiastically than Cali. The options abound.

Rosin carts

I’d start with the award-winning brand Happy Cabbage. Their hash rosin cart offerings include Laser Sword at Farma in Portland. Fancy-pants Serra dispensary knows what’s up—they have Happy Cabbage hash rosin carts in Banana Bliss, Melon Granita, and Strawberry Banana.

Need more live rosin to go? See also: Highland Provisions Chem Z, and Decibel Farms’ GMO.

Live resin carts

Oregon’s live resin options are also super tasty and crazy affordable. It’s hard to find a cart above $40 out there. On my shortlist is Buddies Apricot Octane and Lemon tree, and their Raspberry Parfait liquid diamonds Pax pod. Award-winning NW Kind also has Wookie Cookies for the knockout punch of Girl Scout Cookies x The White.

See also in live resins of Oregon: Willamette Valley Alchemy Jah Goo; Avitas Sour Strawberry.

Washington live resin clouds of flavor

Washingtonians can soak up the last days of sunshine and warmth with a fair amount of super affordable live resin carts. Places like Ocean Greens in Seattle sport 228 cart offerings for the masses.

One brand with an aura is Heylo—their Treehaus collaborations levitate strains like Warm Apple Pie, Arnold Palmer, and Electric Lemonade.

For Pax lovers, Dabstract’s Pax Pods of Grape Cream Cake x Nooner live resin offer flavor and power. And for Pax lovers who microdose, Ganja Goddess Seattle has the Fairwinds PAX Pod with a CBD ratio of 10:1.

Fight the fall blahs with even more live resin fruit blasts. I’d try the Techniq Lemon Granita, the Londonchello carts by Cookies, or the Watermelon Sherbet Cartridges by Airo Pro.

Colorado rosin carts

The oldest, most mature legal cannabis state, of course, sports the new styles of vape tech. That means tasty rosin carts that’ll keep you litty in the mile-high city.

Look for hash brand Akta live rosin carts in Chem Brulee, Dosi Doh, or Fun in the Sun.

Akta has incomprehensible technology that’s leading to mega-taste.

Akta states: “Unlike traditional distillate carts, you can expect more flavor and aroma from a higher concentration of natural cannabinoids and terpenes with every hit. And unlike other solventless cartridges, our live rosin is naturally cured, not mechanically separated.”

For more rosin cart goodness, see also: Soiku Bano – Glueball or GMO.

Illinois live resin, sauce carts, disposables, and pods

The land of Lincoln is the new plug for Midwestern cannabis lovers. Eighteen months into legalization, the average Chicago dispensary has over 100 carts to choose from. While those newfangled rosin pods haven’t made it over yet, Illinois has live resin and sauce vapes on the top shelf.

Major brand Cresco serves up live resin top shelf like Lemon Bean, Slurricrasher, or Lime Sorbet.

Verano does “high-terpene full spectrum extract sauce” carts in Cherry Gorilla, as well as East Coast Sour Diesel.

Be an awesome barbecue guest—bring a disposable pen for the host. Look at Verano’s Tropic Thunder, or rythm’s Banana Cookies, Lemon Cake, and Jet Fuel disposables.

In pod formats, Aero Pro lovers can go old school with Maui Wowie, or newer with Cherry Lime Haze. And for Pax Pod fans, Rythm’s Strawberry Cough x Slimer OG is ready for date night; ditto Margy Mints and L’Orange x Layer Cake.

Michigan live rosin vapes

Michigan’s newly legal adult-use cannabis scene is taking off, thanks to low regulations and taxes, operators report. The state’s medical marijuana know-how, combined with all the modern strains make for some world-class vapes.

Before you hit the lake, scoop up live rosin carts like the Jungle MAC at Gage Cannabis in Grand Rapids. Ditto for the Clout Face Rosin Cart. Shango has Pleasantrees Melon Juice Live Hash Rosin Carts as well as Powerade #3. Nice.

Massachusetts live resin and sauce carts

A Boston resident has over 1,700 cartridge options within 30 miles—thanks, legalization. But what’s the tastiest? Live resin, sauce, and rosin carts are making a run at the distillate market in Massachusetts and the flavors look tasty.

In live resins, Ozone’s Forbidden Fruit keeps it sultry; The Botanist’s LA Pop Rockz rocks.

In sauce carts, Origyn has trendy flavors Lemon Grapeade, Forbidden Dosi Chem, and Caramel Cream.

Feeling salty and savory? Entourage also has a Garlic Jam “terp cartridge” that’ll be tasty.

And then Michigan vape tech migrates east with the Pure Michigan live hash rosin cart. Strain Pure Michigan combines the talents of Michigan breeders 3rd Coast Genetics and ThugPug genetics, crossing Oreoz to Mendobreath F2 for powerful, on-trend flavor.

Rosin carts countrywide

Florida—Even strict, quirky medical cannabis state Florida has some of the most contemporary hash technology in the world now. For example, Florida patients can get award-winning Blue River rosin carts at Trulieve outlets.

Arizona—The Arizona desert is blooming with adult-use cannabis flowers and extracts—a win for vape lovers. Leafly shows almost 17,000 results for cartridges within a 30-mile radius of a Phoenix resident, dayam. Brand Red Rock leads the rosin cart charge with Apple Fritter and GG#4.

Also in hash rosin carts: Abundant Organics GG#4 and Fruity Melange. In live resins, winning brand Item 9 has MAC Lemon, Mango Melon, and Fuji Apple Haze. And the brand Timeless has Lemon Alien Dawg, Runtz, Lemon Meringue, or Strawberry Banana.

There are even more authentic flavors from the field, and mind-bending effects out there. We’re gonna need ‘em. Let us know what’s dope in your favorite dispensary—comment below.

David Downs

David Downs directs news and lifestyle coverage as the California Bureau Chief for Leafly.com. He’s written for WIRED, Rolling Stone and Billboard, and is the former cannabis editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, as well as the author of several cannabis books including ‘Marijuana Harvest’ by Ed Rosenthal and David Downs. He co-hosts The Hash podcast. TW: @davidrdowns | IG @daviddowns

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